Welcome and thank you for being here, I am happy to see you! I am happy to hear the nice commotion you are making and to be able to be infected by your joy. It is beautiful to be together in Lisbon; you were called by me, by the Patriarch - whom I thank for his words - by your bishops, priests, catechists, animators. Let us thank all those who called you and all those who worked to make this meeting possible, and we do so with a round of applause!
But, above all, it was Jesus who called you, so let's thank Jesus with another round of applause! You are not here by chance. The Lord has called you, not only now, but since the beginning of your lives. He has called us all since the beginning of our lives.
He called us by our names. We hear the word of God calling us by name. Try to imagine these words written in large letters; and then think of them written inside each one of you, in your hearts, as if it was the title of your life, the meaning of who you are: you have been called by name: you, you, you, you, you, all of us here, me, we were all called by name.
We were not called automatically. We were called by name. Let's think about this: Jesus called me by name. These are words written in the heart. Then let's think that they are written inside each one of us, in our hearts and they form the title of your life.
The meaning of who we are, the meaning of who you are. You have been called by name, you have been called by name, you have been called by name. None of us are Christians by chance. We were all called by name. At the beginning of our lives, before the talents we have, before the darkness and the wounds we carry within us, we have been called.
